Quality System - Design Control

What’s Important To YOUth?

Prepared by The Salvation Army Victoria
Social Programme and Policy Unit

05 November 2015

The Salvation Army, Australia Southern Territory – Victorian State Council: What’s Important to YOUth?

For further information on this submission please contact:

Jason Davies-Kildea (Captain)

Manager: Victoria Social Programme and Policy Unit

PO Box 288 Coburg VIC 3058

Email:

Telephone: (03) 9353 5200

table of contentS

1. About The Salvation Army 4

2. Education, Training and Employment 5

2.1 Education Case Study 5

2.2 What Works in Education and Training? 6

3. Mental Health, Trauma and Marginalisation 7

3.1 Mental Health Case Study 8

4. Homelessness and Housing 10

5. Young People and Public Transport 12

6. Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Young People 13

6.1 Young People Falling Through The Gaps 13

6.2 Key Issues for Young People 13

7. Young People and the Justice System 14

8. Conclusion 15

What’s Important to YOUth?

1. About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is an international Christian movement with a presence in 126 countries worldwide. In Australia, the Salvos are widely known and relied upon to deliver practical responses to individuals, families and communities in crisis. Whilst we interact on a daily basis with people from all walks of life, we recognise a particular calling to those who might otherwise fall through the gaps of our social security nets, those who find themselves on the margins of our communities, and those who struggle to have their voices heard.

This support for disadvantaged Australians is driven by our values: human dignity, justice, hope, compassion and community. We share our community’s belief in a ‘fair go’ for all, which grounds our commitment to social justice and a particular interest in the health and wellbeing of those most vulnerable in our society.

In Victoria, The Salvation Army has been helping people in need for more than 130 years. Today Salvation Army churches, community centres, and social service networks provide more than 350 distinct social program activities in urban, regional and rural areas across the state. These programmatic responses range from frontline emergency support services and highly targeted, intensive interventions, through to more generalist life stage responses.

The Salvation Army provides a wide range of youth services right across Victoria, including youth homelessness, case management, out-of-home care, education, training and employment programs. We know that the young people who become connected with us have all had a rough start to their lives. For too many, by the time they hit their teenage years, they've already dealt with more issues than most of us face in a lifetime. In a society where many young people are staying at home longer and longer after high school, university and into their first jobs, this group of vulnerable youth is having to find their feet much earlier and overcome multiple disadvantages to do so.

In order to help these young people get back on their feet, someone needs to be able to build trust with them. Invariably this trust will be tested and can require great resilience from all involved, however such trusting relationships are essential to reestablishing a sense of hope in the possibilities of the future for those who've been badly burnt by their past. We need to ensure that our services and systems don't close the door on vulnerable young people but instead that we continually find ways to open new doors and keep them open.

This submission has been compiled from feedback given by Salvation Army youth services across Victoria, as well as information gathered from previous submissions in the youth space.

2. Education, Training and Employment

The cohort of young people who come into contact with The Salvation Army often have poor educational histories and frequently lack basic literacy and numerous skills. Re-engaging these young people in education and training is critical to help them develop the skills and confidence needed to succeed in life. However, most of the young people The Salvation Army works with have struggled to thrive in mainstream schools. Many feel ashamed and lack the self confidence to believe that they can succeed in school and withdraw rather than continue to engage in education. Offering alternative educational pathways to these young people is crucial to enabling them to build the confidence and skills needed to succeed later in life.

2.1 Education Case Study

Ben's problems at school started in Grade 4. When his dad left home, his mum's drinking got a lot worse and he soon found himself having to borrow lunch from other kids. Having no money around the house first led to missing school excursions but by the time he was in high school, his unstable home situation had led to him missing school on a pretty regular basis. By Year 9, it was pretty clear that Ben was on the way out of mainstream education and by the first term of Year 10, it was sealed. For almost a year, Ben avoided any form of education or training - in his own mind he was always going to be a failure.

However, just after his sixteenth birthday Ben got involved with The Salvation Army's Brunswick Youth Services (BYS) through a friend. He went on a few outings with them and started to play basketball on their Monday night team. Before he knew it, he was working with his friend on a multimedia project that was part of the VCAL curriculum. Later when Ben's mum kicked him out of home because he was fighting with her new boyfriend, BYS helped to find him safe accommodation. Ben eventually took up an apprenticeship with an electrician on the condition that he turn up to work on time unaffected by drugs or alcohol. He's now in his second year.

Many of the young people who access Salvation Army services have similar stories to Ben - they've lost a sense of hope for their own lives and they trust very few, if any, adults. Their experience has taught them that mainstream systems weren't designed to deal with their problems and that the easiest way is to opt out before you get kicked out.

2.2 What Works in Education and Training?

Like Ben, many of the young people that The Salvation Army works with do not cope well in mainstream education and have a history of poor educational outcomes. In some cases this can be explained by learning or developmental problems, or intellectual disability. However, it is more often attributable to the influence of chaotic, abusive or neglectful home environments. As the result of early disengagement with school, many lack the fundamental skills, including basic literacy and numeracy, that are critical to workforce participation and vocational fulfilment.

In order to recognise and intervene as early as possible, one of the recommendations from a Salvation Army youth worker was that teacher education should include an introduction to trauma informed practice. This could mean that issues shaping a young person’s behaviours are identified and appropriate responses can be crafted before they disengage with mainstream education systems. Schools may also need to be resourced better in order for student welfare workers to successfully engage with young people, families and partner with specialist services.

Salvation Army frontline services also report that VCAL provides a good opportunity for the young people we work with and that more alternative educational and vocational development opportunities, such as social enterprises, need to be made available. Especially valuable are courses that focus on building fundamental work skills, as well as helping young people acquire industry specific skills that will provide a pathway into meaningful employment. TAFE providers have also been very valuable as they have historically been the largest providers of VET courses and offer a wide range of fundamental courses like basic literacy and numeracy skills and apprenticeships which help build the confidence and skills of the people we work with.

Too often young people engage in a course to fulfil Centrelink obligations but find they are still unable to secure employment after completion. This is frustrating for young people and acts as a disincentive to further educational engagement. Of particular concern are private for-profit providers who target and exploit young people, too often leaving them with significant debts and without the vocational skills they need.

They need one-on-one assertive outreach support to help them access the programs, small class sizes, and flexible course curriculum and structures that allow teaching staff to work with young people on an individualised basis. With this type of intense and personalised support, vulnerable young people can achieve outstanding outcomes.

The defunded Commonwealth Youth Connections program once helped vulnerable young people like Ben to reengage with education and training opportunities. It is estimated that 10,000 young people in Victoria are currently disengaged from any kind of education or training.[1] Supporting these young people to re-engage in school and stay connected to their communities greatly reduces their risk of becoming homeless later in life. Youth Connections provided flexible, individualised responses to young people at risk or disengaged from education and training. In Victoria, the program supported an average of 4,600 young people each year, of which approximately 2,500 were between 13 and 17 years of age.[2] The program had been highly successful in working with young people who are at risk and helping these young people re-engage in education and training and strengthen ties to their communities and family. Funding for Youth Connections ended on 31 December 2014. Without a similar program funded to work with this group of young people, more will disengage from school and be at increased risk of falling through the gaps for the rest of their lives.

3. Mental Health, Trauma and Marginalisation

Community-based and non-clinical interventions play a vital role in helping young people who may be experiencing mental health difficulties or who are suffering the effects of trauma. The young people with whom The Salvation Army works have often had to find ways of coping with incredibly difficult life situations. These coping strategies, which may include using alcohol and other drugs, self-harm, violence and criminal activities are symptomatic of the struggle to survive in an environment that usually contains limited supports. Too frequently these activities result in further judgement and marginalisation rather than the care and support that is needed in order to provide sufficient stabilisation for the introduction of more appropriate coping strategies.

A key theme coming from Salvation Army youth workers was that successful engagement frequently depends upon young people being met on their own terms. This requires flexible strategies and responses, which should also include a range of online and social media supports, reflecting the changing environments in which young people interact.

3.1 Mental Health Case Study

Anna is 18 years old and her life so far has been dominated by physical, sexual and emotional abuse. She was often left alone from a very early age and recalls crying for hours without anyone noticing her. Anna’s father was physically and sexually abusive towards her throughout her childhood and later taught her brother to continue the same pattern of abuse.

Unsurprisingly, Anna had a highly disrupted education, rarely attended school and eventually dropped out in year 10. Around this time, Anna made friends with a group of young people who engaged in low level criminal activity and she began to use cannabis and alcohol with them. At 16, she left home; initially spending several months couch surfing and on a few occasions sleeping rough on the streets or in squats. During this time, Anna continued to be sexually abused by the people she stayed with and usually considered this abuse to be the cost of being allowed to stay. Anna’s drug usage increased, expanding to include Ice (methamphetamine) and prescription pills (benzodiazepines).

Eventually, the criminal activities that supported Anna’s drug usage and place in her peer group culminated in a stay at Parkville Youth Justice Precinct. Anna received some counselling and support while at Parkville but without support she returned to homelessness shortly after being released. For several months afterwards, Anna bounced between youth refuges, homelessness, couch surfing, and eventually a stay at a residential withdrawal and rehabilitation program. During this time, significant mental health problems became apparent, including anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness, which culminated in a suicide attempt. She was prescribed medication, but in the absence of ongoing support, her accommodation continually broke down and her treatment was unable to be continued. It was at this point that she came to The Salvation Army.

While accommodated at a Salvation Army refuge, Anna reengaged with a mental health service and started to take her medication again. She was also offered counselling which, combined with the stability the refuge provided, helped her begin to deal with the abuse that she had experienced, which is a significant contributor to her mental health issues. Anna has been offered legal support to help her address outstanding public transport fines and other charges related to theft and property damage. She has also improved her literacy and numeracy skills, as well as general living skills, despite having been assessed as having a learning disability. Anna continues to work with her support worker towards recovering from her abusive past and mental health issues. She is currently waiting to access a place in transitional housing, where she will continue to be supported.

The Salvation Army in Victoria provides a range of Out of Home Care (OHC) services to children and young people of all ages who are unable to safely live with their families because of violence, abuse or neglect. Because of their traumatic backgrounds, many children and young people in OHC struggle to build positive relationships with people, may suffer from developmental delays, intellectual disability or mental health issues, and often have poor educational outcomes. According to the Victorian Children’s Court, they are also more likely to have substances abuse issues and are more likely to be involved with the youth justice system.[3] They are also at a high risk of homelessness when leaving care, with 35 per cent of young people leaving care becoming homeless within the first year of leaving care[4] and 25 per cent of those young people still being homeless up to seven years after leaving care.[5] Helping these young people deal with their traumatic pasts and plan for the future is paramount if they are to be able to live successful lives as adults.